Re-embroidering life

The clouds roll and the clouds disperse, it is August again, the sweet osmanthus is in bloom, and the whole city is filled with fragrance.

The provincial examination was held in Jiangxia Prefecture City, with three sessions in total, and it took nine days to complete. It was only the hour of Yin, and the sky was still dark, but the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall was already crowded with people, and it was very lively. Ji Zimo was wearing a blue shirt, a Confucian scarf on his head, and a heavy examination basket in his hands. Every examination item and daily necessities were carefully prepared by Shui Qinghua.

The bell rang, and Ji Zimo and his family nodded one by one, then turned and walked into the Imperial Examination Hall to be searched, and gradually disappeared into the crowd. Shui Qinghua stood there, watching his back, her heart full of worry.

After bidding farewell to his family, Shui Qinghua left the Imperial Examination Hall and went to inspect the newly opened dyeing workshop.

As soon as you enter the workshop, you will see colorful silk threads everywhere. Thousands of threads hang on the polished bamboo poles, swaying without wind, creating a rainbow here, a distant mountain there, a cage of mist near, a layer of clouds in the distance, and a pool of water in front of you, reflecting a myriad of colors.

Shui Qinghua's petite figure was almost invisible under the heavy curtains made of silk threads. She raised her head and took a deep sniff of the faint scent of dye in the air, feeling slightly tipsy.

At this moment, she was more certain than ever that she deeply loved silk weaving and embroidery.

Since she was a child, she has been intoxicated by the softness of silk and the delicacy of embroidery needles. She likes the feeling of the pattern emerging little by little on the embroidery silk after the flying needles. But she has never been shocked by a scene like this one, making her feel that the colors, silk threads, brocade, embroidery, all of them are deeply buried in her bones, resonating with her soul, stirring up hot emotions like magma in her heart.

"Master Shui." An old voice called her.

She pulled herself out of her excitement and saw Master Jin lifting the colorful curtain and walking towards her. The indelible dye on his hands was particularly conspicuous.

Master Jin has been engaged in weaving and dyeing for his whole life and is an expert in this field. He mixes all the dyes by himself, and the formula is handed down from his ancestors. The safflower, indigo and amur cork he uses are all grown in his own garden. He never pollutes the plants with feces, and only applies one kind of fertilizer, bean cake, which he carefully tends to in order to ensure that the dyes he makes are clean and fragrant.

Master Jin felt that no one had higher requirements than him when it came to dyeing, but the effect that Shui wanted to achieve was more detailed than he had imagined. His competitive spirit was aroused, so he left the dyeing workshop where he had worked all his life and came to this new dyeing workshop to be the helmsman.

The two of them stood under the rainbow-like clusters of silk threads and discussed the craft.

Shui Qinghua required a very detailed color scale. Just for white, there were many shades of light and dark, silvery, yellowish, and blue. This was something Master Jin had never thought of. In order to dye these different colors, he could only constantly adjust the formula and try it little by little. This was something that required a lot of hard work and patience. Fortunately, as a craftsman, he had patience in his spare time. The difficulty was how to distinguish the dyed colors from each other. Shui Qinghua suggested building a color scale table, assigning a color number to each color and marking the formula ratio. Master Jin nodded repeatedly.

The two of them discussed from early morning to noon before they finally came to a conclusion on the rules.

After coming out of the dyeing workshop, Shui Qinghua suddenly remembered that she hadn't been to the Chen family for a follow-up visit for a long time. She had already finished the last course of medicine, and it was time for Old Madam Chen to take her pulse. Since Jin Lan left, Old Madam Chen must have been very lonely, and as a junior, she should visit her more often.

Chen's house was as plain and peaceful as usual. There were no precious flowers or trees in the garden, only clusters of honeysuckle in full bloom, some of the petals were still snow-white, and some were already golden yellow, no wonder they were also called honeysuckle.

Mrs. Chen was indeed very enthusiastic about her arrival. After taking her pulse, she said with great relief: "Child, you are much better now."

Shui Qinghua was also very happy.

The old lady added: "Although you are in good health, you still have to wait and see before you can have children. If you still have Snow Lotus Pills, you should be able to have children again after taking five of them."

Shui Qinghua smiled and said, "Old Madam, to be honest, even if I am completely healthy, I don't plan to have another child. I have a lot of things to do now. I have three daughters at home, and it takes a lot of energy to raise them. I am often worried that I will not spend enough time with them, miss their growth, and cause the mother and daughter to be alienated. How can I have the energy to raise more children?

Old Madam Chen shook her head and sighed, "You are still too young and think too simply! I heard that you don't have a legitimate son yet. After all, a woman needs a son. Regardless of what your mother-in-law and husband think, your embroidery shop is getting better and better, and your husband will be on the list of successful candidates soon. Your family business will surely flourish. Without a son, you will be coveted by others in the future and cause countless troubles. By then, you will experience the warmth and coldness of human nature."

Shui Qinghua said: "Thank you for your concern, old lady. I know you are sincerely planning for me. Qinghua is very grateful, but I have made up my mind."

The old lady disagreed, but seeing her determination, she didn't say anything more. Suddenly, as if remembering something, the old lady asked Shui Qinghua: "Do you know that the Tang family's grandmother is a widow, and her husband passed away some time ago?"

Shui Qinghua was shocked by the news, like a bolt from the blue. Dead? This is impossible. In the previous life, Tang Fu's husband lived until seven years later!

"How could this happen, old lady? Didn't you give her a Snow Lotus Pill?" Shui Qinghua asked anxiously.

"Yes, in theory, one Snow Lotus Pill can keep you alive for two years. Then go look for Tianshan Snow Lotus in two years. If you can keep going, living another ten years will not be a problem. I don't know what went wrong. I heard that the man is the son of a scholarly family in Jiangnan. I can only say that God is jealous of talented people." Old Madam Chen sighed continuously.

Shui Qinghua asked curiously, "Madam, you seem to be very familiar with the Tang family?" The first time she received a diagnosis from the famous doctor Chen, it was Tang Hao who introduced them. The Snow Lotus Pill is so precious that Madam Chen is willing to give it to Tang Fu. The relationship between the two families must be unusual.

"We can't say we are very familiar with each other. When the old man was in the capital, he was introduced by a nobleman to the Imperial Medical Bureau. That nobleman had a close relationship with the Tang family. When the old man returned to his hometown to retire, the nobleman asked him to take care of the Tang family. So we try our best to help if we can. Treating diseases and saving lives is the duty of doctors." Old Madam Chen explained.

Shui Qinghua's mind was still spinning rapidly until she left Chen's house, wondering how Tang Fu's husband could have passed away so early? There was only one possibility, Tang Fu did not give the Snow Lotus Pill to her husband. Why did she do this? Was it because the Snow Lotus Pill was given by someone she hated, herself? Or was it a mistake that she did not have time to give the medicine to her husband, or did she not want her husband to live?

Shui Qinghua shuddered violently and dared not think about it any further.